Jenga

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The original (small) version of the toppling bricks game was Jenga. Invented in East Africa and named after the Swahili word for "build", the rights to Jenga were bought in the 1970s by Hasbro, the corporate toy and games giant. Jenga was for a while the world's biggest selling game and is undoubtedly a modern classic.

Spawning numerous copycat products and also giant versions of the game, Jenga is a phenomenon and the rules couldn't be simpler. Simply remove one block from the Jenga stack each turn and place on the top of the tower (strict rules require you to use only one hand). The tower gradually grows in height until eventually someone doesn't quite get it right and it tumbles over! The person who makes the Jenga tower tumble loses.

Despite its familiarity, Jenga continues to entertain and is a good reminder that often the simplest games are the most fun!